Machine for breaking cubes of ice



Nov. 13, 1934. -r J, FEGLEY ET AL MACHINE FOR BREAKING CUBES OF ICEFiled July 29, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet Nov. 13, 1934. T, J, FE LEY 5;1,980,952

MACHINE FOR BREAKING CUBES OF ICE Filed July 29, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z4 I 3 E 2 Z0 4 'Y/A 22 Wax/w fm M . sizes.

. 45 frigerator.

Patented Nov. 13, 1934 PATENT OFFICE UNITED STATES I delphia, Pa.,assignors to North Bros Mfg 00., Philadelphia, Pin, a corporation ofPennsyl Vania Application July 29, 1931, Serial No. 553,853

12 Claims.

One object of our invention is to make a machine particularly adaptedfor breaking the cubes of ice formed in mechanical refrigerators. Thesecubes are very hard to break in the ordinary ma- 5 chine designed forreducing rough uneven pieces of ice into chips or other forms orparticles.

A further object of the invention is tomake a machine which will engageand hold ice cubes while being cut and broken into the required A stillfurther object is to provide means for cutting and crushing the cubes asthey pass through the machine.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of our improved machine;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2, Fig. 3, showing theeccentrically-mounted cylinder in the crushing position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detached perspective view of the breaking cylinder;

Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view of the spindle on which thecylinder is mounted; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the eccentrically-mounted cylinder inthe retracted position.

Referring to the drawings: 1 is the base of the machine. 2 is a standardwhich supports the casing 3 made in the form illustrated in Fig. 3. 4 isthe spindle on which is mounted the cylinder 12.

5 is a handle which is screwed onto the spindle and by which thecylinder is turned. 6 are flanges projecting from the base for holdingthe receptacle 7, which may be of glass or other suitable material, andin which the chips or small particles of ice are collected as they aredischarged from the'machine. The casing 3 has a cylindrical portion 3ain which is located the toothed eccentrically mounted cylinder 12. Thecrushing surface 312 of the cylindrical portion 3a is segmental. Thehopper 16 projects above the cylindrical portion 3a and is of such size,in the present instance, to receive cubes of ice formed in a mechanicalre- It will be noticed that the wall 8 of the hopper 16 is inclined inrespect to the vertical line a a side wall.

tion 16 of the casing 3 and are engaged by the transverse ribs or lugs9, which are comparatively short in the present instance, the ribs orlugs holding them while they are being cut by the teeth 10 and 11 on thecylinder 12. By reason of the relatively short, vertically-spaced ribsor lugs 9, which are preferably located along the center portion of theinner face of the inclined wall 8, the relatively small ice cubes may beplaced in the hopper 16 in any position and the said ribs or lugs 9 willengage the cubes, the unobstructed space on.each side of said ribs orlugs allowing the cubes to extend past the ribs or lugs at an angle tothe inclined wall so that a corner of the rib or lug will engage above70' an upper edge of the cube to hold the samein position to be engagedby the teeth 10 and 11 on the cylinder 12. The side walls of the hopperform substantially square comers with the wall 8. When the icepenetrating and breaking mecha-- nism engages an ice cube, the cube isforced into one of the said corners so that it enters one of the saidspaces and abuts against the wall 8 and One of the ribs 9 of the seriesof alined, fixed, vertically-extending ribs, engages the cube and this,together with the abutment of the cube with the hopper walls, serves tohold the cube firmly'so that it may be broken. At the lower end of thecasing are a-series of vertical ribs 14 which detain the pieces whilethey are being further out by the teeth 11 and crushed by theeccentrically-mounted cylinder against the crushing surface 3b of thecasing. When the particles of ice have been reduced in size, they aredischarged through the outlet opening 15. I At each side of the casing 3are the bearings 17 for the shaft 4 which form trunnions for theeccentrically-mounted cylinder. The shaft is shown in detail in Fig. 5,and this shaft passes through an opening 18 in the cylinder 12 locatedeccentrically in respect to the periphery of the cylinder, so that asthe cylinder is rotated by the shaft, it has an eccentric movement toand from the crushing surface 3b of the casing, the portion of thecylinder furthermost from its axis constituting the crushing portion ofthe cylinder. In the periphery of the cylinder are a series of grooves19, in which are located the sharp, spikeshaped teeth 10 and 11. 'In thepresent instance there are two teeth 10 which project tangentially fromthe cylinder nearest the opening 18 in the cylinder, while the series ofteeth 11 project tangentially from the cylinder at a greater distancefrom the center of the. opening 18, and the several teeth are offset sothat one tooth will cut in advance of the other in order. that theentire teeth of each series'will not engage the ice at once, reducingthe power necessary to cut the cubes of ice. The teeth 10 project from 5the cylinder'at a point nearer the center of rotation of the cylinderthan the crushing portion of the cylinder, and the other set of teeth 11project at the crushing portion of the cylinder, so that while the teethwill penetrate the ice 1o *cube and break particles therefrom, the teeth11 will cut the ice particles while they are being crushed. The spindle4 has two screw-threads 20 and 22 spaced apart by a plain section,having a shoulder 24, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. This 1 15 plainsection is mounted in the bearing 17 nearest the handle, and the handlehas a screw thread adapted to the screw thread 22 on'the spindle, asshown in Fig. 3 while the thread 20 is adapted to a thread 21 in theopening 18 in the cylinder,

' 241 and the spindle is screwed into the cylinder until the shoulder 24seats itself against the end of the cylinder, as shown clearly in Fig.3.

When a cube of ice is placed in the hopper 16 and the cylinder 12 turnedso that the crushing 25 portion of the eccentrically mounted cylinderwill be retracted from the crushing surface 3b of the casing, the twoteeth 10'will be in po- .sition to penetrate the ice cube, forcing thecube against the wall 8 and into contact with-one of 3athe ribs or lugswhile it is being penetrated by the teeth. This \action of the teethcauses comparatively-large -/pieces to be broken from the cube, andthese pieces will drop into the space between the cylinder and thecrushing surface 3b. 0n continuing the rotation of theeccentrically-mounted cylinder, the teeth 11 will penetrate the cube andbreak other pieces therefrom, and as the cylinder continues its rotationthe teeth 11 will go out the broken pieces while the crushing portion ofthe eccentrically-mounted cylinder will crush :the pieces against thesurface 3b of the casing and the teeth 11 will feed the particles pastthe ribs 14, and they will be discharged. through the opening 15 intothe receptacle 7.

The teeth inthe present instance project tangentially from the cylinderand are cylindrical in cross-section and are sharpened at the projectingends forming spikes which readily pene- Io trate the ice cube andbreakpieces therefrom The body portions of the teeth are located in thegrooves and are held therein by pee'ning down the walls of the grooveson each side of the tooth as at 23, so as to firmly hold the teeth inposition i in the grooves. When it is necessary to remove the teeth theteethare forcibly withdrawn from the grooves and other teeth can bereadily placed in position and the side walls of the grooves againpeened over the teeth, holding them rigidly in position.

By providing two sets of teeth spaced apart, a clear space is providedbetween the casing and the cylinder for the passage of comparativelylarge particles of ice which are to be crushed by the crushing portionofthe cylinder.

While the invention is particularly adapted for cutting cubes of icefrozen in an electric or other refrigerator, it can also be used forcutting small blocks of ice ofany form without departing from theessential features of the invention.

We claim:

1. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having a hopperat its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end; 'a spindlemounted in bearings in the casing a cylinder 9 which prevent the cuberaising eccentrically mounted on the spindle and hat ing two sets ofteeth, the outer ends of one set of teeth being located'nearer thecenter of rotation than the outer ends of the teeth of the other set;means for turning the spindle, the one wall of the hopper having aprojection extending into the hopper and located above the cylinder sothat an ice cube within the hopper will be held by the projection whileit is being cut by the teeth of the cylinder.

2. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having a hopperat the upper end and a discharge opening at the lower end; bearings onthe casing at one side of the center thereof; a spindle mounted in thebearings; an eccentrically-mounted cylinder secured to the spindlewithin the casing and having teeth, the wall of the hopper on theopposite side of the center line from the spindle having a series oftransverse ribs above the cylinder; a series of vertical ribs extendinginto the casing below the cylinder and positioned to support the cube ofice while it is being cut by the teeth and crushed by the cylinder, thetransverse ribs of the hopper holding the cube of ice as it is cut bythe teeth of the cylinder, the ice as it is reducedin size being engagedby one transverse rib after another until it is sufliciently broken topass through the throat between the casing and the cylinder.

3. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having a hopperat its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end, one wall ofthe hopper being inclined outwards toward the lower end and having ribsthereon, said casing having bearings located at one side of the verticalcenter line of the casing; a spindle mounted in the bearings; a toothedcylinder eccentrically mounted on the spindle, said spindle having ascrew-threaded portion, the cylinder having a like thread engaging thethread of the spindle, the spindle having a shoulder bearing against oneend of the cylinder; and a handle mounted on the end of the spindle forturning the spindle and the cylinder, the'cylinder being provided withteeth for severing the ice as it is fed into the hopper and held by theribs of the casing! 4. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of acasing having a cylindrical portion provided with a crushing surface,and having a hopper above the cylindrical portion, and having a.discharge opening below the cylindrical portion; means in thecylindrical portion for crushing the ice; and axially-spaced, pointedteeth on the said at one side; ribs projecting in the casing at the,

'base of the said surface; a hopper forming part of the casing, one wallof the hopper being inclined outwards toward the crushing surface of thecasing and having ribs thereon; a cylinder eccentrically mounted in thecasing opposite the crushing surface, said cylinder having a crushingportion; and spiked teeth projecting tangentially r from the cylinder ata point nearer the center of rotation of the cylinder than the crushingportion of said cylinder so that. the ice ,cube will be penetrated andbroken by the spiked teeth and carried into the crushing space, and asthe cylinder is turned the ice will be crushed by the crushing portionof the cylinder against the segmental cruslfing surface of the casing.

6. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having asegmental crushing surface at one side; ribs projecting in the casing atthe base of the said surface; a hopper forming part of the casing, onewall of the hopper being inclined outwards towards the crushing surfaceof the casing and having ribs thereon; a cylinder eccentrically mountedin the casing opposite the crushing surface, said cylinder having acrushing portion; spiked teeth projecting tangentially from the cylinderat a point nearer the center of rotation of the cylinder than thecrushing portion of said cylinder; and a second series of spiked teethprojecting from the crushing portion of the cylinder so that the icecube will be penetrated and broken by the spiked teeth and drawn intothe crushing space, and as the cylinder is turned the ice will becrushed by the crushing portion of the cylinder against the segmentalcrushing surface of the casing.

7. The combination in an ice cube breaker,

of a casing having a segmental crushing surface at one side; ribsprojecting in the casing at the base of the said surface; a hopperforming part of the casing, one wall of the hopper being inclinedoutwards towards the crushing surface of the casing and having a ribthereon; a cylinder eccentrically mounted in the casing opposite thecrushing surface, said cylinder having a crushing portion; spiked teethprojecting tangentially from the cylinder at a point nearer the centerof rotation of the cylinder than the crushing portion of said cylinder;and a second series of spiked teeth projecting from the crushing portionof the cylinder so that the ice cube will be penetrated and broken bythe spiked teeth and carried into the crushing space, and as thecylinder is turned the ice'will be crushed by the crushing portion ofthe cylinder against the segmental crushing surface of the casing andwill be cut by the second set of teeth while it is being crushed.

8. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having acylindrical portion provided with a crushing surface and having a hopperabove the cylindrical portion and a discharge opening below thecylindrical portion, the wall of the hopper which forms a continuationof the said crushing surface of the cylindrical portion having a seriesof alined, fixed, vertically-spaced ribs of predetermined shortdimension relative to the width of the said wall and located so as toprovide a predetermined unobstructed space along the said wall extendingfrom the ends of each rib transversely of the wall to the ends of saidwall into which space a portion of an ice cube may enter and thus allowone of the ribs to firmly hold the ice cube against upward displacement,and toothed means in the cylindrical portion for penetrating andbreaking the ice cube into particles while it is held by the said rib.

9. The combination in' an ice cube breaker, of a casing having acylindrical portion provided with a crushing surface and having a hopperabove the cylindrical portion and a discharge opening below thecylindrical portion, said hopper having a wall forming a continuation ofthe said crushing surface of the cylindrical portion and a side wallforming a substantially square comer with said first wall, said firstwall having a series of alined, fixed, vertically-spaced ribs ofpredetermined short dimension relative to the width of the said wall andlocated so as to'provide a predetermined unobstructed space along thesaid wall between the ends of the ribs and the said side wall into whichspace a portion of the ice cube may "enter and thus allow one of theribs to firmly hold the ice cube against upward displacement, andtoothed means in the cylindrical portion for penetrating and breakingthe ice cube into particles and acting to force the ice cube into saidspace and into abutment with said walls so that the ice cube may bebroken while it is held by the said hopper walls and the said rib.

10. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having asegmental crushing surface, and having a hopper at its upper end and adischarge opening at its lower end; a cylinder eccentrically mounted ona horizontal axis in the casing opposite the segmental crushing surface,the portion of the cylinder furthermost from its axis constituting acrushing portion on said cylinder; means for turning the cylinder, saidcylinder having a set of spike-shaped teeth projecting at its crushingportion; and stop ribs near the lower end of the crushing surface of thecasing preventing pieces of ice passing through the casing until theyhave been cut by the spikeshaped teeth and crushed by the crushingportion of the cylinder.

11. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having asegmental crushing surface, and having a hopper at its upper end and adischarge opening at its lower end; a cylinder eccentrically mounted ona horizontal axis in the casing opposite the segmental crushing surface,the portion of the cylinder furthermost from its axis constituting acrushing portion on said cylinder; means for turning the cylinder, saidcylinder having a set of spike-shaped teeth projecting at its crushingportion; stop ribs near the lower end of the crushing surface of thecasing preventing pieces of ice passing through the casing until theyhave been cut by the spikeshaped teeth and crushed by the crushingportion of the cylinder; and a series of transverse projecting ribs onthe wall of the hopper .which forms a continuation of the crushingsurface of the casing for progressively retaining the ice cubes againstupward displacement while being I penetrated by the teeth on thecylinder.

12. The combination in an ice cube breaker, of a casing having acylindrical portion provided with a crushing surface, and having ahopper and a discharge opening; a crushing cylinder in the cylindricalportion of the casing; means for rotating said cylinder; means formounting said cylinder so that a portion thereof moves toward and awayfrom the crushing surface of the casing during the rotation of thecylinder, said portion constituting a crushing portion; and tangentialteeth on said cylinder for penetrating and breaking the ice cubes priorto the. subjection of the ice to crushing by the crushing portion of thecylinder.

THOMAS J. FEGLEY.

GEORGE O. LEOPOLD.

